Dragon
by Kitten's Blade
Summary: A new X-member is found. And she has said that she can do anything and is proving it every moment. But she pretends to be mute and only talks to Kurt. Kurt feels like an idiot when he tries to explain she was talking...and wolverine is jealous of her dog.
1. Introduced

You are not wrong, who deem  
  
That my days have been a dream  
  
Yet if hope has flown away  
  
In a night, or in a day  
  
In a vision, or in none  
  
Is it therefore the less gone?  
  
--Edgar Allan Poe  
  
Hello, this is my first X-men fic. and I hope I get lots and lots of reviews! I used to write in GW/SM crossovers because I read a couple of fics. and came up with ideas, so I wrote in that section. But I went to go see 'X2'...It was the most totally awesome movie ever! Now I have to write in this section or my conscience would beat me up. Oh! And, as you see, I put quotes at the tops of my chapters! And, by the way, I don't know if Kurt is German or not or how old he is. If you know please tell me. This book WILL have language, nudity, violence, and SOME adult themes. If you disagree with any of these things, please refrain from reading this story. If you disagree please DO NOT read. I am not making you read this, it is your choice. But, I hope ya'll like it! On with the story! [X2 Spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]  
  
*I do not believe in disclaimers. This is a site for fans, and creators don't go to sites to make another story. They publish them and make money. In writing this, all I am doing is providing entertainment, I don't get a penny.  
  
Chapter 1: Introduced  
  
A person walked down the abandoned alley. Darkness engulfed the air and steam rose from the protection of their manholes and into the cold and damp air. The person was tall, wrapped tightly in a coat, and wore a hat. No skin was available to appeal the eye. The figure fashioned the shape of a man and the slenderness of an acrobat.  
  
He stopped and surveyed they street which the alleyway had suddenly merged to. He looked up at the streetlamp and kept his face covered with his collar. He then stepped from the light and gazed for a street sign.  
  
'Kingston. This is it. The street where the professor said they would be.' Thought the figure to himself with a heavy German accent. He then walked to the right, the directions in which he was instructed.  
  
He counted houses now. He began to trot, and then he broke into a run and watched the trees. If anyone were watching him, they would have seen a man running and vanish into blue smoke under a broken streetlamp. But not a soul from the graves stirred.  
  
He landed in the trees which he had been watching and then he leaped on the two-story house's roof. The roof came down from one sharp point and then thrust out where two windows were. Either window led into a different room. He chose the window to his right, yet again.  
  
He gazed into the window. It was open but it had a screen bolted to it and bars crossed the front, which were nailed in the evergreen colored shudders. The house was white, and the color of the bars blended perfectly in the night. The other window possessed neither of these qualities. This was either a very bad case of judgment on the professor's behalf, or he was saving this mutant.  
  
He concentrated again and focused on the visible part of the room. He found himself standing in the middle of the room watching the blue smoke disintegrate outside the window. The room he stood in was purple. Even though he could hardly see, it was purple down to the carpet. The bed stood in the left of the room under the slope of the roof, which was painted a darker purple. The bed was purple, the carpet, the enormous bear which stood in the corner--it was probably won in a fair as a grand prize--but the furniture was made of polished wood.  
  
The figure jumped as a loud bark erupted from the floor. He looked at the bed and another cloud of blue smoke set him against the wall on the other side of the outline of a person under wrinkled covers. The bark sounded again as the lights flickered on. The blue smoke set him on the roof again.  
  
He peered around the roof and looked into the window. A tall man aged to gray hair stood in front of the bed.  
  
"What have I told you? Keep the noise down and stop that dog from barking! If you don't it'll be in the cemetery with the other one!" Screamed the giant man, his voice was deep and hateful. The man looked at the figure in the bed, which was hidden from the man in the coat's vision from outside the window. The gray-haired man then stomped up to the side of the bed that was closest to the window. The man outside the window pulled himself away and listened. A big smack erupted from the room with a whimper as the dog barked once more.  
  
"Shut it up! The neighborhood is trying to sleep!" Bellowed the voice before the slamming of a door. The figure outside of the window was stunned, the man had looked disgusted and the figure in the bed had done nothing.  
  
The light stayed on, as the blue smoke appeared in the room. The dog let out a sound of muffled barking.  
  
"I'm so sorry!" Said the figure in the smoke. "I was only here to deliver a message and I did not mean for this to happen!" His voice carried a heavy accent and he looked around to find the mutant he was apologizing to. His head swung around to look at the bed, knowing they would be there.  
  
The dog looked sourly at him through the owner's fingers, which were clamped around its snout. He yanked his hat off revealing that his skin was blue and he had many swirling marks upon his face. "I did not mean for this to happen, I am here for-" He stopped mid-sentence in awe. A girl stood up and released the dog's mouth; she was only an inch shorter than him with a muscular body and hardly anything on, in fact, only a bra and boxer shorts. And her long, golden hair reached the floor. Her cheeks reddened and she ran her fingers soothingly over her pet's soft fur under this newcomer's timid gaze.  
  
She looked at him; a nice and muscular person was he, in a coat which hid him though. He was a sexy color of blue and his face held tattoos. She watched her pet walk from her fingertips to sniff his hem up to his knee, it took half a minute for it to scent him. The tall black dog then skirted back to its master, pleased with the aroma of innocence it found on him.  
  
"I am so sorry-" He began, but she interrupted.  
  
"Shh!" She pointed to the red handprint on her face. He studied the freshness, it was the origin of the loud smack. He knew no words to speak at this moment. He looked at the room in a new view with the lights on. It was plain. The polished wooden dresser had nothing on it. The bed consisted of one quilt, one mattress, and two pillows. The chest of drawers held nothing on it either. The room was bare. No pictures or glass figurines, or flowers, or lamps, or a chair, or a fan, or a television... nothing that the usual living quarters consisted of. And one very unusual thing that every woman or girl's room should have... there was not a mirror anywhere. His hand clamped down tighter on his hat and he looked for one thing.  
  
"Have you nothing in this place?" He asked in concern.  
  
"I have two pair 'a shorts," she began, "two pair 'a jeans, three shirts, ma' five unmentionables," he raised an eyebrow at this, "a' smuggled CD an' CD player, and 'a dog." She looked at him. He placed his hands in his pockets and sighed.  
  
He held his chin high and tongue tight, "Professor Xavier has sent me. That is why I am here. If you chose to come with me, you will be given proper necessities and housing. I must consult with your guardian before I take you, unless you are of the age 18." He whispered in a modest tone, he hoped she was old enough so he would not have to meet with that man. Such a beautiful person, he could not help but feel a great bit of guilt for her. But the guilt turned to nervousness when he looked into her glowing blue eyes, they were like ice, they got colder every second longer that he looked into them, yet her face grew more passionate. Her eyes were solid blue, the pupil was a lighter shade of blue. Kind of like a blind man's eyes, yet she could see. He could feel his hair prick like needles.  
  
"I'm nineteen, and you ain't gonna' 'consult' with that man 'cause he'll never let me go. And you need to work on recitin' those lines casually instead 'a all robotically. I can tell ye'r recitin' them from a book." She stated with a smile, she was wearing the king of fake smiles. Yet her face still held passionately.  
  
"It is out sort of a book, yes. But you are not clothed suitably for leave of this place. I can turn or wait outside if you like while you change..." She looked down to examine herself and he looked at her chest then quickly steered his eyes away and held from temptation. "You must gather your things, quickly. The professor is waiting."  
  
"Got 'em." She pointed to her pockets. He looked at her strangely and she began over in a slower voice trying to pronounce the words right. "I have got my things already."  
  
"I'm sorry; I'm not used to your accent." He apologized. He gazed at her arms which held chill bumps, and through the fabric of her bra, he could see she was cold.  
  
"Ya' apologize too much, and I'm not used ta yer's either. She put on a real smile and walked to him with her hair dragging on the floor. "Heel, Shadow." She said keeping eye contact with him. The dog walked to her. He licked her heel in reassurance that he was there, and then sat. "My name's Dragon, this's Shadow, and yer name's Kurt. I've seen ya' a couple 'a times."  
  
"I've never seen a beautiful woman such as you." He whispered, examining the hair on the floor.  
  
"I've seen ya' somewhere... anyways, here I am, now what da' we do?" She looked at the dog which came up to mid-thigh when sitting.  
  
"We let you change then go to the jet and-"  
  
"Hold on a sec'nd." She commanded. Her nostrils flared and the night was so silent that he could hear the air in which she breathed. Her ears weren't visible through her hair, but something moved as if to prick. Her back became arched and she looked past him to the door.  
  
He surveyed her; he could have sworn that he could hear her heart as footsteps erupted in the hall. In a swift movement, she grabbed Kurt's hand while Shadow crept between her legs. The last thing Kurt saw was the gun in the hands of the gray-haired man aimed at this new girl.  
  
Now he saw the street. "How did-? What the-? How?!" He stammered as he gazed at her. She ignored him and without delay changed the subject.  
  
"When we get ta' tha' jet, I'm not talkin' anymore. I'm supposed ta' be mute. I want it ta' stay that way. I'm only talkin' ta' ya' now ba'cause ya' came ta' me. I like ya'. Yer ma' friend, right?" The streetlight in which they were under was broken and they were sealed in the blackness. But as he could not see, he saw her blue eyes glowing like a light. They were unmistakably hers...he will never forget watching them as they moved around, his spine crawled.  
  
"You'll be friends with all of the X-Men." He said. He didn't want to mention her eyes because she could be sensitive on the subject. He was sure many people had told her that her eyes were revolting. It was such a frightening sight to see those eyes.  
  
"X-Men? In New York? THE X-Men?" She exclaimed ecstatically.  
  
"Yes, yes. But how did you get us down here?"  
  
"I can do anything." She stated in the darkness. He could feel the breeze tug at his coat and play through his hair.  
  
"Everything?" He asked. "Why didn't you run away then? That looked like a wretched place."  
  
"It was. But I heard someone from tha' Xavier institute transfer tha' thought in ma' head that I should wait." She whispered, "They died, I heard their last brain transitions. She was somewhere cold and in water. She died 'a month ago."  
  
"That was Jean. She saved all of our lives." His tone became grim.  
  
"When ma' mother died, I tried ta' bring 'er back... I'll never try ta' bring anyone from the dead again." She looked at the ground and began to roll her hair.  
  
"What happened to your eye-" He stopped at the sight of her face; it was sullen under the little light provided by the street lamp. "The jet is this way."  
  
She gave a sharp, two-toned whistle and Shadow was at her side. They walked under a lit streetlamp and then to a street of pure darkness and there were her glowing eyes again.  
  
He paused then didn't realized what he was about to say, "What's wrong with your eyes, they are horrid in this blackness." He steered his eyes to the ground. He wanted to slap himself.  
  
"There's nothin' wrong with 'em, and I expected that question ta' come up soon too. Don't be embarrassed for calling 'em horrid." She stroked his ear with her finger in a playful way, but her voice became grim. "They help me ta' see in the dark. It comes in handy when ye'r locked in a room and yer life depends on seeing to pick tha' lock an' stalk silently through tha' house ta' get 'a small piece a' food that can only last till the next night..." She stopped talking and followed behind him until he slowed to a pace where they both walked evenly. There was nothing for him to say...he wished he had said nothing at all.  
  
~*~Later~*~  
  
The ominous sound of silence filled the streets to more than ears could handle. Kurt walked along side Dragon. She had her hand over his shoulder and her cleavage too close to him.  
  
"So, how did you discover your powers?" Kurt inquired; he held his hat in his hand. He felt more secure with Dragon than he ever had. He didn't know how she could prompt him to walk around without it atop his head.  
  
"Ba'fore I was born, I used ta' kick ma' mother's stomach and things would fly around tha' room or somethin' would catch on fire. When I was born, all the patients in tha' hospital mysteriously got better. All tha' people who were diein' [dieing] lived and all tha' people with cancer didn't have it anymore. They didn't think it as a miracle on me, they saw it as a blessing from God ba'cause no one noticed I was born on that exact moment." She kicked a rock with her toe and kicked it again when they had walked far enough.  
  
"You've had your powers all your life then?" He had never heard of this before, no mutant in the world known to the professor or himself had their powers before they were born.  
  
"Yep. But I don't believe in God ba'cause I did nothin' and he made ma' life Hell." She thought back to all those nights she thought she was going to starve...that she would never get away or find a person to be a friend or a lover. She took out her anger and cast the rock twice the distance.  
  
"I believe that he exists with a purpose for everything." Kurt stated with less anger than he thought he would have. "I am a very strong Christian."  
  
"I'm sorry." She said. "I didn't realize..."  
  
"It's alright." He said quickly. "But what religion are you, then?"  
  
"I dunno. I'm tha' religion that thinks that all tha' way ta' Jesus there were mutants and that he was one of 'em." She kicked the rock once more.  
  
"You mean Jesus?"  
  
"I respect his acts. I respect tha' dead. I respect that he was a mutant who helped people who hated him. I believe that all tha' people in the bible who did miraculous things were mutants. I believe that the people accused of being witches and were burned at the stake were mutants."  
  
"You have beliefs the way I have not looked at them before... you almost make me doubt." He looked down the alley way in which he recognized. "We're almost there."  
  
"Good... where are we going?" She kicked the rock into a can next to a board when she turned sharply to him.  
  
Kurt could not help but laugh at this. "We are going to New York."  
  
"I'm leaving Alabama?" She said in a more than happy tone. Her chest ached with this knowledge. Leave her birthplace? Alabama has a warm climate and it has cold winters, sometimes there was even snow. It snowed at an average of every seven years in Alabama, and when it snowed, she was never allowed outside.  
  
"You sound overwhelmed." He said in a pleased tone.  
  
"I've never been anywhere out a' this state." She looked at his slender face instead of looking down at her feet. "Does it snow in New York? I've never seen snow ba'fore." Shadow let out a bark a second too late as she stepped on the board.  
  
Kurt jumped as he heard the already familiar bark. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Crap..." She muttered. All was forgotten as she looked at the three long nails that protruded from her foot, she hadn't bothered to put on any shoes. Kurt's eyes widened as he witnessed her sliding her foot off of them. He could see her jaw muscles tighten as she clenched her teeth, but she gave not one word. "I'll take care of it when we get ta' tha' jet, how far is it?"  
  
"About a mile, Logan set it near a dirt road opening in the woods. I will get us there faster if you like."  
  
"I could get us there in 'a literal sec'nd." She said as the red bricks of the buildings began to whirl and blur together. Kurt felt like he had taken a long jump and his energy had been drained as he saw the jet come into focus. Then his energy slammed into his back and he had to step forward to keep his balance.  
  
"We didn't expect you to be back so soon, Blue Boy." Said a new voice. Dragon looked for the source.  
  
"I didn't expect to be back so soon either. Dragon got us here faster." Kurt watched Logan raise an eyebrow. He had black hair and a rough look to him. He leaned against the jet and looked to take pride in his strength. Dragon knew that if she wanted to have a deep and scruff friend that he was standing in front of her.  
  
"She needs the professor to tend to her wounds, she hurt her foot." Kurt lifted his hand and placed his hat upon his head.  
  
Logan looked at the blood which ran on her foot. "Can you walk?" He asked sticking his toothpick in the side of his mouth. She nodded her head as Shadow began to trot up to Logan. He growled and Logan looked disgusted.  
  
"This your mutt?" He asked. She limped up to him and folded her right hand in a fist. She smiled slyly and Logan watched with a look of surprise as three long, silver colored, spikes protruded from her knuckles. She rubbed his whiskers with them to prove they were real and then they shot back into her knuckles. She whistled with a smile as her dog came to her left side. Logan looked around her to Kurt with a questionable look.  
  
She then left a bloody trail into the jet as she limped up the ramp. Professor Xavier met her at the top.  
  
"Ah, you're going to be a helpful addition to the X-Men." He stated confidently. "We could use someone like you. You have much endurance." The professor was a bald man and he sat in a wheel chair. He looked sharp and keen and he looked to be a strict person as he sat straight up.  
  
She twisted her fingers quickly together. Professor Xavier looked at her. "You'll be able to bring your dog along. Where are your things? Logan will put them in the back."  
  
"Wait a minute, Professor!" Kurt almost yelled, "She was talking to me a minute ago! She had a heavy accent and she said everything about the-" He stopped and gave up. "Never mind."  
  
"Kurt, her files state that she's been mute for fourteen years. Since she was five, she's nineteen now and still, not a word out of her."  
  
"But we were talking, she says she can do anything and she just imitated Logan without him even demonstrating anything to her."  
  
He looked back at her and she gave a shy smile as the spikes protruded again. She pulled them back in and began to twist her fingers into the silent language. "We will attend to that in a minute." He turned back to Kurt, "You did remind her to get her things, right?"  
  
"I did, she said she already had them."  
  
"But I don't see any bags." The professor said and gave a smile, for he knew she was fixing to demonstrate, as she walked down the ramp to Logan. She reached in her boxer's pocket and began to tug. She held one finger up signaling him to wait. When she brought her hand out, she held a duffle bag. She handed it to Logan and smiled impishly.  
  
"How do you do that?" Kurt asked. She smiled wider and walked into the jet with him on her heel. She found a seat and then Kurt took the one next to her. "Why do you not talk?" He asked her.  
  
'Ba'cause I don't trust men.' She replied in his head.  
  
"I'm a man." He whispered trying to keep their conversation from the other two men's ears.  
  
'But you saved me. And ye'r blue with three fingers and a tail with pointy ears an' fuzz.'  
  
"Don't rub it in please." He said as Shadow skittered in between his legs.  
  
'I think ye'r sexy that way. Got 'a problem with it?'  
  
He flung his head from the dog on the floor to her smile which made his knees melt into a puddle. Professor Xavier noticed this as he wheeled to Dragon with a bandage.  
  
"Kurt, is something wrong?" Professor Xavier observed.  
  
"Um," he thought of something quick, "I thought it was cold in here and that she might want some clothes. She is in nothing to arrive at the manor in."  
  
"Nothing's right." Logan muttered preparing the jet for take-off.  
  
"What was that, Logan?" Asked the Professor.  
  
"I didn't say anything." He lied with a smile. It was such a sly tone and smile that let the professor know that he was lying.  
  
"Let me see your foot. I'll bandage it."  
  
Kurt looked at the perfect way she crossed her legs and her perfect thighs, the strong and compact muscles that moved under her skin. The hair in which was on the floor, the foot which had three large holes in it, it was bloody but still perfectly shaped. The revealing bra and shorts...did she have anything under those shorts?  
  
Kurt slouched down in his seat and pulled the coat off of him and laid it in his lap to hide his thoughts. He wore dark blue jeans and a zipped up leather jacket with animated water droplets. The dog moved from under him and walked down the isle and lay near Logan.  
  
"Lucky dog," he cursed, "I bet you get to sleep in the same bed as her." Shadow lifted his head and tilted it to one side in question.  
  
"You did a number on yourself, Dragon. I can see straight through your foot." The professor stated. It was impressive that she had been able to walk.  
  
"She didn't even scream." Kurt said.  
  
"Kurt, she couldn't. But if you say she was talking, she must have talked to you in your head."  
  
"But she was moving her mouth." He protested, yet he said it calmly.  
  
"What is her power?"  
  
"She can do everything. You saw her."  
  
She nodded her head and rubbed her bloody foot. All three holes closed slowly and let them watch as she smiled. She looked at the professor and rubbed her arms to create the image of coldness. He understood.  
  
"Kurt, there is a blanket in the back, please fetch it for our new permanent guest." Xavier said with a smile.  
  
"Yes sir." Kurt said erupting into blue smoke clutching his coat tight to his thighs.  
  
~*~ Okay! This is my first chapter! Please review! Be gentle ^.^ I tried my best!!! 


	2. The Glasses and Rouge

I can't escape walking down these halls  
  
Hard to where find a place where there are no walls  
  
And no lines begging me to cross  
  
Only straight ahead better move along  
  
--Trapt, These Walls  
  
Yey! Another chapter in another story! I'm trying my best, but it IS hard to juggle social studies; science; marching band practice for an hour and a half two days a week; football game half time shows every Friday night; practicing my flute, clarinet, bass guitar, harmonica, trumpet; writing three books at one time; AND having a boyfriend. It's extremely hard on me right now... but I'm so happy that I'm finally updating this book again! I don't want to keep ya'll waiting... So on with the chapter!  
  
*I don't believe in disclaimers  
  
Chapter 2: The Manor and the Glasses  
  
Kurt looked over to the blonde-haired girl. He had gotten her the blanket requested by the professor and a pillow. Now she lay sleeping, dreaming on his shoulder. She had the power to do everything...he wondered what it was like to do anything you wanted...  
  
'There has to be some limit. I mean, she can't do anything...can she? There must be SOME catch...' He shifted in his seat. The jet was dark, spare the glowing light and switches of the control panel where the Professor and Logan sat. One light, the emergency light, stayed on during the whole flight. It hung over Logan's head and barley lit more than the control panel. If it were any brighter it would cause reflections in the window and would make it difficult to see. It cast Logan's face in shadows. 'I wonder what she is thinking now,' Kurt continued imagining, 'What is she dreaming? Does she dream of the manor...?'  
  
"Kurt," the Professor began, "I could not help but overhear your thoughts. She is not in dreams, nor is she in that body. She has sent a projection of herself somewhere. I'm not sure where though..." He gave a smile in confidence. Kurt recognized this smile to hold excitement.  
  
"I don't believe it. There's no way she can do what she claims. I don't see why we wasted our time coming here anyways. I should be back at the manor sleeping." Logan was beginning to become irritated. He had just arrived back and his welcome was a rush to the jet.  
  
"You don't have a clue to what Cerebrus showed me. I put on the head piece, and then the whole room was of her face," he left out the part where she looked different on purpose, "and ALWAYS the room is filled with the globe and mutants around it. She was scared. A man, much older than her, appeared and beat her brutally. I saw several images against my will." The professor rubbed the side of his face with his hand and all excitement was forgotten.  
  
"Will you tell me of some of these scenes?" Kurt asked, unsure of the answer he would get.  
  
"Well, you see, this man met a mutant somewhere and she restricted the house Dragon lived in. Or, you see, she made it to where Dragon could not leave unless another mutant escorted her, and she couldn't use her powers inside the house. She gave him a knife and then it shot immediately to the image of a refrigerator with a coded lock on it. There was an image of the knife being used several times, I watched against my will, no choice on my part." The professor looked grim.  
  
"I don't see how any of this-" Logan began, but Kurt interrupted him.  
  
"May I ask of these scenes?" Kurt shuffled his feet and arranged his jacket. The pointed end of his tail was swaying back and forth in the darkness.  
  
Small lights suddenly flickered on in the aisle. The professor had mentally clicked the switch. "I don't feel in any mood to repeat them."  
  
"But, sir, I feel something unfamiliar. I would like to know more about this girl." Kurt pleaded. Submission was apparent in the Professor's face. He steered his chair to the row in which Kurt sat with Dragon.  
  
He reached over to roll Dragon's body in his lap. What he had said of the projection was true. The body breathed and her heart pumped, but she might have been dead otherwise. He situated the body in his lap and pulled the blanket off of her. Kurt held it in his lap while Logan listened to the conversation intently.  
  
"Sir, what are you doing?" Kurt asked with an edge of nervousness and curiosity in his voice.  
  
"I'm showing you the wounds in her right shoulder..." His voice trailed off as Logan looked back towards them. From his spot, he could see more than ten or fifteen different scars, and there was no telling how many times those had been cut. One of these wounds was fresh, perhaps from last night or the night before. Her powers had been prevented from healing these wounds. He now knew that it was not only the blood from her now-healed foot that held faint in the air.  
  
"Her bra," the word 'bra' rolled off Kurt's tongue reluctantly, "was covering these wounds; I had paid no attention to her chest..." Logan let out a sharp breath of air of disbelieving laughter. Kurt was a man; of course he had paid SOME attention to her chest.  
  
"Hmm... I've also just noticed, her skin's clinging to her ribs. Logan, call Ro (storm) and tell her to prepare food for Dragon." The Professor ran his finger over the ribs. They protruded from her skin like spikes and the scars on her chest could never be healed, even now that she could use her powers. "Her ribs weren't so apparent when she came in the ship, she must have been hiding her ribs from us..."  
  
"Xavier, it's three o'clock in the morning," Logan rung in, "can't we just feed her a sandwich and let her sleep on the couch tonight? Calling the manor will wake up everyone." The professor took this into consideration.  
  
"No, if you were starving badly enough to stick someone with your ribs you would not want to sit there and smell the food while it cooks. They can volunteer some of their sleeping time to cook some small leftovers and scraps of food. Tomorrow is Saturday so they'll sleep in late anyways." Logan still looked tiered, and he had small circles under his eyes. "And we're not making her sleep on the couch. I need one of you gentlemen to volunteer your rooms t-"  
  
Logan interrupted him, "I just got home professor. She can sleep on the couch until we fix her a room in the morning." The professor gave Logan a warning glance, he understood Logan was desperately homesick and tiered, but that was no excuse to be rude to a permanent guest. Kurt noticed this, and since he liked this girl, he spoke up.  
  
"I will let her sleep on my bed. I will sleep on the couch in the study."  
  
The professor's face showed gratitude. "Thank you Kurt, we'll get some of the extra linens-"  
  
Logan put on the auto pilot and stood up to face them. "This is Saturday morning; none of the extra linens are going to be dry yet because yesterday was wash day, if I remember right. If it's so damn important that she have a bed, well..." Logan paused, he had dreamed of his bed ever since he left... "I'll let her sleep in my bed."  
  
"This is too much trouble professor, I will sleep on the couch. I'll just use this blanket she has right now." Kurt leaned back as Logan passed the professor and sat in the seat across from them.  
  
"I'll tell you what, Kurt." Logan began, "You both just sleep in the same bed. No problem there? I mean, you're so strict we all know you wouldn't do anything. And we know that you're too modest and shy. Why not just sleep in the same bed?"  
  
Kurt's blue cheeks flushed as he diverted his gaze to the floor. Him, with a woman, in a bed? He had never done something like this, like...like... like a normal person. Like a person with peachy skin, no tail, and normal ears, with blunt teeth.  
  
"I-I..." Kurt was dumbfounded. The professor nodded, paying no attention to the stuttering.  
  
"Fine, it's settled. For tonight, she will sleep with Kurt." The professor wiped his forehead as if glad it was finally settled. He would never let this happen if it was before midnight. But three o'clock in the morning...patience was thin.  
  
"Thanks Professor," he nodded to Xavier then to the other man, "Kurt." He stood up with a sly and triumphant grin. Shadow lifted his head when Logan headed back to the front. After he sat down, he nuzzled Logan's hand. He turned around to make sure the others weren't looking, then he petted the dog's head roughly, receiving a wagging tail.  
  
"I'm sorry, Kurt. I am not in the mood. I was afraid to get her at any other time in the day. I thank you for volunteering to come." He then turned the chair and wheeled back to the front. Logan pushed a button and five rings passed before Rouge answered the phone, then Logan muttered a few words. The professor added a few comments at the end and then button was pushed to end the phone call. (AN: my bff just burped really loud... Good sound effect, :p) Kurt knew the Professor was talking to Logan telepathically because occasionally, he would nod his head.  
  
Kurt ran a three-fingered hand through her ankle long hair. The body moved to lean on his chest, and since she was not in the body, her body was still limp. He leaned his head back and looked out the window. He gave a smile, it was a tiered and weary smile. Like when a painter is finished with the product and he is staring back to admire it.  
  
There stood Dragon, balancing on the wing. He could see through her, her hair blew behind her. She held a small and sad looking smile. The boxer shorts she wore where whipping around in the wind. He saw a hand creep up to her sports bra and her examine her right shoulder. She then stood up, spread her arms, and let herself fall backwards.  
  
Kurt was about to summon the men in the front of the jet, when he saw something in the corner of his eye. All of a sudden, Dragon woke and stretched. A tail crept between her legs and out under the sheet. It was blue and furry, like his own. Was this a trick? Before he had a second chance to think, the tail was gone and Dragon was staring at him.  
  
A thought rung in his head, like when the professor talked to him through his powers, 'What,' asked Dragon.  
  
"You have a tail?" Kurt asked.  
  
'No,' rung the thought, 'it's too late at night, yer eyes're playin' tricks on ya'.'  
  
"But..." He laid his head back with a smile of tired frustration. His sharp teeth were showing and his smile was so handsome. She touched the tip of his ear and it twitched as he turned his head to her. "You're sharing a room with me tonight..." he paused at the red flushing in her cheeks, he could see it in the darkness. "I didn't suggest it, it was Logan. Yesterday was wash day, where the extra linens were washed... and there were no extra sheets, they wouldn't let me sleep on a couch. I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable with it..."  
  
'It's alright, I like ya, so don't worry about it.' She smiled at him, though the redness still hung on her cheeks.  
  
He smiled back lazily, he then looked out the window to see the clouds zip by. The stars weren't visible in New York because there were so many lights. He gave yawn, which reminded Dragon of a lion, its huge fangs rearing.  
  
'Yer're so dif'rent [different]. Ya' remind me of ma' own eyes. When I was little, mothers would pull their kids away from me ba'cause ma' eyes glowed. And I hardly ever went outside so that made it even worse...' She grabbed his hand, which startled him greatly. He was readying himself to pull back when he noticed that her first two fingers and her last two fingers moved together. She put her hand to his, her fingers were at least an inch bigger than his.  
  
"You have long fingers." He said transfixed on the movements.  
  
'Ya've got hands close ta mine. I never expected ta find someone like you.' She smiled sadly, similar to the one on the wing, before she fell. 'I saw what happened ta that 'Jean' girl. She told me ta stay there. I had ta stay, but she could've helped me leave, with 'er powers. But she said no...'  
  
"Go to sleep, you are away from that place. You're room will have as many things as you want in it, including mirrors and things. Shadow can sleep on your bed, too." He turned his whole body to face her, leaving his hand in hers.  
  
'No mirrers![mirrors]' She screamed loudly in his head, making him jump in the darkness. 'Mirrers, mirrers, I don't want ta see ma'self!' Seeing his questionable look, she answered, 'Ma' mother was ashamed a' me, she'd hide me 'n that room. I was happy there, an' even though she was 'ashamed 'a me, she still loved me. Then she married that awful man, I didn't even go ta' tha' wedding. I was four, a year later, that man ruined it all...'  
  
"Even if she was ashamed of you, what does that have to do with mirrors?" Kurt was puzzled.  
  
'I'll show ya later, much later. And mirrers, about the mirrers, it all had ta do with tha way I looked-'  
  
She was interrupted by Kurt, "I think you're beautiful, despite the eyes."  
  
"You haven't seen me. It'll only make things worse fer me, you too. Ya' don't want ta' see me..." She rubbed his palm lovingly while her blue eyes glowed in the dark, like some wild cat waiting to pounce. He could see every time she blinked, everywhere she looked. It sent an awkward chill down his spine.  
  
"Are you able to change your appearance then?" He had a strange urge to run his fingers through her hair again, like he hade done while she was on the wing, but he held his hands in their spots with much effort. The darkness of the spot in the jet made him shrink into himself, folding his arms over his legs as he looked with a special interest at Dragon.  
  
'Yeah, I heard tha' professor lecturing ya' on ma' past, ya' know that I couldn't use ma' powers in that house...' She gave a sad sigh, and he could see her eyelids droop over her irises, so he would leave that question alone for right now. She was remembering the fragile second in which she could feel her power shock through her body for the first time in fourteen years, when Kurt had entered the room. The fragile second in which an old memory of her powers tugged at her skin and the memories of her mother told her skin to change. She remembered looking at her succulent peach skin and then at a different color in the mirrors...  
  
Kurt wondered if it was something he had said. But he was almost sure that she was thinking of old memories. He was unsure of whether he should interrupt these thoughts, but as he saw a wide smile spread on her face and her almost pupil-less eyes stare off, he decided not to interrupt her thoughts.  
  
She was thinking of her mother.  
  
~*~Later~*~  
  
"Welcome to 'The Xavier Institute for Gifted Children.'" Said the professor with a great smile resting on his face, "Make yourself at home, for this one will be your home for as long as you wish."  
  
She nodded with a smile of gratitude, then continued letting her mouth hang open as she studied the great rooms that they passed and walked through. Shadow followed her heel. After many, many confusing twists and turns, Logan said his parting and continued up a stairway to his room. They continued on through another hall and two rooms to find the kitchen where numerous people were crowded around.  
  
The hinges on the door creaked loudly over the talking and complaining. The people here had been woken by the phone and could not fall into sleep again, so they had gathered in the eating place. Wide ranges of age stood on the tiles. From small preteens to ages of almost 25, excluding the professor. She smelled food, it was something her nostrils always recognized, while walking down the hall, she had hoped the smell was not that of the last meal. But food sat on the table with a small steam rising above it.  
  
On seeing the food, she let her illusion down and her ribs stuck out an inch or so from her skin. When she finally walked through the door, all eyes were on her. Some of the people gasped, and a preteen whispered to one of their friends, "What's wrong with her eyes?"  
  
She ignored it as a brown haired girl with two long, white streaks hanging in front of her face came forth and put a gloved hand almost too cautiously on her shoulder. Dragon began to wonder if this was from fear, but a quick flash of the girl's thoughts told her of the blight this girl carried in every cell of her body.  
  
"Come on, sit and eat." The girl was younger than Dragon, about the same age as the boy who pulled out a chair for her to sit in. His eyes were blue, a luminescent blue for a fact, but his eyes were beautiful with the black pupil in the center. Her blind-looking eyes were horrid, she felt a pang of embarrassment for herself, but hunger prevailed and drove her to sit in the seat and grab the strange sliver ware. She had not held silver ware in her hands for more than fourteen years, she had been reduced to her fingers.  
  
Shadow came up next to her, and sat with a wagging ebony tail next to her. She gave every other bite to the dog on the floor, until the boy who had pulled out her chair gave the dog a separate bowl. She couldn't tell what it was she was eating, but it looked good, smelled good, tasted good, so it was good enough to eat.  
  
"I would like to introduce everyone to Dragon." Seeing that her mouth was full, he gave the basic and known information. "She comes from Alabama, and she can't talk, but she has many powers." He looked at her and saw that she was paying no attention, wrapped up in the food. Kurt was standing next to her with a smile of gratitude and satisfaction, he was glad that something was being put against her ribs. The professor continued, "We don't know of any limit to her power yet, but I am sure it is a very small limit. She may very well be the most powerful mutant in this room." He paused as the dog's tail bumped against the chair, "The dog's name is Shadow. From the behavior I have observed from this dog, it is harmless.  
  
"Professor," chimed in a boy older than the blighted girl, a thought produced by many of the mutants said this as Scott Summers. He wore sunglasses over his eyes, this was another blighted mutant. He tapped his head, signaling the Professor to communicate through their minds, but Xavier shook his head.  
  
"She can read minds too, there is no point."  
  
"Well, professor..." Scott paused and glanced at the still-eating girl, "some of the younger children are afraid of her eyes..." He motioned to the four or five preteens in a corner, huddling next to each other, talking nervously.  
  
She looked up at this remark, all attention was on her. She held her wrist out, flicked it, and then a pair of black sunglasses was in her hand, as if they had been dropped from the ceiling. She flung them open with the one free hand and then placed them on her face with a friendly smile, showing she wasn't offended, then she continued with the food. Scott gave a nervous glance back at the professor, who smiled triumphantly. Scott smiled back and walked over to one of his friends.  
  
Kurt twitched his tail and then thought back to the glance he had seen of hers. He smiled and then thought back to how much she would enjoy herself here. He would find out about this tail too...  
  
The girl with the two white streaks came forth again. "I thought you might want this." Dragon paused to take brief look at the fabric the girl held. She then wiped her hand on a napkin and began to feel the fabric. Dragon then turned to the professor and made a bunch of signals with her hand.  
  
"She wants to know what it's made of," Said the professor in a kindly tone.  
  
She turned back to the girl for an answer. She smiled and said, "It's made of silk. I thought that you might want it. It's a shirt, I got it on short notice, so... I hope you like it."  
  
A big smile spread across Dragon's face and she turned excitedly to the professor with wild hand motions. The professor translated, "She wants to know if it's a gift, she said she remembered getting one once." Xavier smiled forcefully, shoving the sadness from his face. After the Professor's comment, Scott looked at Dragon sympathetically.  
  
The girl turned to Dragon and put the shirt in her hands. "Of course it's a gift, silly." Dragon looked at the girl and stood to give her a shallow bow of thankfulness. Then she pointed to herself and pointed to the streaked girl then turned to the professor with more hand motions.  
  
"Uh, professor?" Inquired the streaked girl. Shadow cocked his head and licked his muzzle.  
  
"She wants to introduce yourself. She's says it's more personal for you to introduce yourself than for her to read the thought of your name." Xavier said with an impressed smile.  
  
"My name is Rouge." Answered the girl with a smile, Rouge knew that Dragon was afraid that Rouge would think her weird. But Rouge found Dragon interesting. "If you have so much power, how come you can't speak?" Scott craned his head, interested in the answer.  
  
Dragon looked to the floor then looked at the professor. She fingered slowly the words of the silent language. "She said that her doctor thought it was traumatic stress or something, she can't remember. But she also said that she can't heal herself. She can only heal others." He looked at her foot, which was not the peach it had been when she had healed it. It was starting to bleed through the bandage which she had to used temporarily. 'Kurt,' Thought the professor 'I want you take her and bandage her foot properly when you get to your room.' Kurt nodded, unnoticed.  
  
Rouge looked at Dragon, then held out her hand. It took a moment for Dragon to realize what the gesture meant, and then she snapped her hand out and shook Rouge's gloved hand with a tinted red flush. Dragon gave another shallow bow and continued to eat. Shadow went to Rouge's side sniffed for a second, rubbed on the protected skin of her legs, then went to Kurt, who stroked the dog's fur.  
  
~*~ I'll update as soon as I can, Review please! I won't update until I get five reviews, is that fair? Later! Oh, and I'm changing my name to 'Wolf Blade' because 'Kitten's Blade' doesn't show up on the Fanfiction.net search engine for the name of the author. 


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